Profiles
in the Law

'Who
We Aspire to Be'

By
Cliff Collins

Fifty
years after he began practicing in Oregon, Vernon D. Gleaves is one of the state's
most revered attorneys.

This
fall the Eugene lawyer received the Oregon State Bar's highest honor, the Award
of Merit. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the bar, bench and
community by individuals who exhibit the highest standards of professionalism.

Gleaves
has devoted much time and effort to advance his chosen profession, and tries
to emphasize to other lawyers how the public perceives them. He notes it is
often said that '90 percent of people distrust lawyers, but 100 percent
think their own attorney is honest.' He thinks it's a case of a few bad
players casting a cloud over the rest. He tries to help lawyers understand that
the way they conduct themselves as an individual reflects on the rest of the
bar.

In
the past decade, Gleaves is best known for his work on the Oregon Judicial Department-Oregon
State Bar Joint Committee on Trial Court Judicial Resources, which, since he
began chairing it in 1994 has commonly been called the Gleaves Committee. His
committee is charged with developing formal recommendations, based on objective
criteria, of how many new judgeships are needed around the state.

While
Gleaves was a member of the OSB Board of Governors, he served as liaison to
the special committee that drafted rules for the first Minimum Continuing Legal
Education. 'I think that that was a great accomplishment for the bar, to
ensure the competency of Oregon's lawyers,' he says.

In
the early 1990s, Gleaves was a member of the subcommittee that drafted rules
to establish the OSB House of Delegates, based on the one-person, one-vote principle
that set up districts throughout the state represented by lawyers from each
district. Having a House of Delegates was an advance for fairness in voting
on matters that affected all OSB members, he says.

Born
in Iowa, Gleaves and his family moved to the Beaver State when he was 10. During
his stint in the Navy, Gleaves met an officer who was a lawyer in Chicago, and
he traces that event to his own decision to pursue the law. After completing
his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Oregon, Gleaves became
an assistant attorney general for the state for three years. In 1954, he entered
private practice by joining a firm that eventually became Gleaves, Swearingen,
Larson, Potter, Scott & Smith in Eugene.

His
practice has emphasized real property transactions, general corporate law, estate
planning and probate, including trusts and wills. He advises clients on all
matters related to real properties and to estate planning, and has substantial
expertise in probate practice and procedure.

His
bar activities and awards are too numerous to list, but include being a life
fellow of the American Bar Foundation; member of the American Judicature Society;
member of the OSB sections on Business Law, Estate Planning & Administration,
and Real Estate & Land Use; member, founding director and former president
of the Oregon Law Foundation; and member and past president of the Lane County
Bar Association.

Gleaves
has received several awards of recognition from the Lane County Bar Association,
and in 1997, was the recipient of the Oregon Judicial Conference Resolution
in Appreciation Award. Firm colleague Thomas P.E. Herrmann says when members
face difficult ethical or legal issues, they turn to Gleaves: 'Throughout
his long tenure with our firm, Vern has been a leader, a teacher and the model
upon which all of us have tried to mold our practices.'

Gerry
Gaydos, who chairs the executive committee of the OSB Business Law Section,
adds, 'He has been a mentor and role model for many lawyers, and has brought
a sense of professionalism to the practice of business law.' Eugene lawyer
Rohn M. Roberts points out Gleaves' 'many contributions of time and resources
to worthy causes … not the least of which has been his tireless efforts in support
of the Campaign for Equal Justice.' Robert H. Fraser, a Eugene attorney,
says Gleaves 'believes passionately that the law is a profession, not just
a business, and he is keenly aware of the obligations of a lawyer to serve his
community.'

For
his part, Gleaves explains simply: 'I like to be involved. I've always
been proud to be a lawyer, and always felt we owed a duty to try to improve
the profession. That has been my primary motivation.' He insists the advantages
of involvement outweigh the drawbacks, citing examples such as being able to
cross paths with people throughout the profession, including 'most of the
presiding judges in the state. It has given me a better understanding of their
problems in maintaining operations of the courts.'

Gleaves,
who snow skied for many years and enjoys gardening with his wife, is 'the
epitome of a business lawyer in service to his community and state,' observes
Judge David V. Brewer of the Oregon Court of Appeals. 'He represents everything
that is right about who we are and, especially, who we aspire to be.'